Roof racks are used to support a load above a roof of a vehicle, thereby increasing the cargo carrying capacity of the vehicle.
A roof rack typically comprises a roof bar (also known as a ‘cross bar’) connected between a pair of connector assemblies, commonly referred to as ‘legs’ or ‘towers’, connected to and arranged at opposed sides of a roof of a vehicle. The connector assemblies are often releasably connected to the roof to allow removal of the roof rack when not required. This is generally desirable as the roof rack affects the aerodynamics of the vehicle, resulting in fuel consumption increasing, it is therefore common for a user to remove the roof rack from the vehicle when the rack is not required to optimise fuel consumption efficiency.
Many different connector assemblies are available for releasably connecting a roof rack to a vehicle. For example, as many vehicles are manufactured with rails fitted along each side of the roof, a common connector assembly comprises a clamp mechanism for gripping the rail. It is typical for the clamp to be actuated by a rotatable handle, thereby allowing a user to remove the roof rack from the vehicle without requiring tools.
However, some vehicles do not have rails fitted above the roof and alternatively, have a groove or track formed in the roof which contains connectors for receiving fasteners. To attach a roof rack to such vehicles, it is common to affix a connector assembly in or to the track with fasteners, such as bolts or screws. Whilst this is generally a reliable method of securing a roof rack to the roof, it can prove inconvenient and time consuming to remove the roof rack after an initial installation, as this often requires the use of specific tools and is time consuming to access and remove each fastener.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a mechanism for releasably connecting a roof rack to a roof of a vehicle having a groove or track for receiving fasteners, or having similar mechanical fastener locations, that can be operated quickly and without requiring tools, thereby allowing the roof rack to be readily removed from the vehicle. Furthermore, it would be useful to provide a solution that avoids or ameliorates any of the disadvantages present in the prior art, or which provides an alternative to the prior art approaches.